At least 18 killed in heavy Russian attack on Ukrainian cities

Russia pounded Ukraine with hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles early on Tuesday in a heavy attack that authorities said killed 22 people and wounded more than 100.

The attacks on cities including Kyiv and Dnipro followed Russian warnings of "systematic" strikes on the capital after a deadly drone attack on a dormitory in Ukraine's Russian-held region of Luhansk last month. Kyiv denies targeting the dormitory.

It was the third heavy assault on Kyiv in under a month, but Russia has been relentlessly attacking Ukrainian cities, including Kyiv, since it invaded its smaller neighbour in 2022.

US-brokered talks on the war in Ukraine have stalled with Washington focusing on Iran, while Russian advances on the battlefield have slowed this year, and Kyiv has stepped up its strikes on Russian oil refineries.

Zelensky Calls for Air Defence Supplies

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia had fired 73 missiles and more than 600 drones in the overnight attack and again urged Washington to send additional Patriot missile interceptors to replenish Kyiv's dwindling supplies.

"This was a large-scale attack and an absolutely clear statement from Russia: if Ukraine is not protected from ballistic and other missile strikes, these attacks will continue," Zelensky said on Telegram.

The Kremlin said on Tuesday the war had entered "a new paradigm" after what it called "inhumane acts of terror" by Ukraine's military against civilians. Moscow warned last week of systemic strikes and urged foreigners to leave Kyiv.

Zelensky sent a letter last week to US President Donald Trump and Congress, asking for air defence systems. As of Monday, officials said he had not received a response.

Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha urged partners to take "concrete steps" to help Ukraine and increase pressure on Russia, appealing for tougher sanctions and more military support.

"Moscow is losing on the battlefield. No number of missiles can change this. What we can change is Russia's ability to continue terror," he said on X.

'Some Kind of Apocalypse'

Moscow's war in Ukraine has killed tens of thousands of people, forced much of the population out of their homes and devastated cities, towns and villages, and Russia controls about one-fifth of Ukraine.

Ukraine has also hit civilian targets during attacks on Russia or Russian-occupied areas, though on a far smaller scale. Both sides deny targeting civilians.

Photographs on Tuesday showed large explosions and plumes of smoke billowing over high-rise buildings in Kyiv, where officials said the overnight strikes had killed six people and wounded close to 80, including three children.

"We couldn't understand what was happening - some kind of apocalypse?" said Olha Mudra, her face and clothes covered in dust, speaking at the site of one strike, accompanied by her 6-year-old daughter Natalia.

Sixteen people were killed overnight, including two young boys, in the southeastern city of Dnipro, local officials said. Russia attacked the city again later on Tuesday, and at least two more people were injured.

In Kyiv, at least nine high-rise buildings, a kindergarten, a clinic, offices and administrative buildings were damaged, and the attack temporarily cut power to 140,000 residents, power company DTEK said.

More than 40,000 took shelter in the Kyiv subway system - the biggest number in recent years. Some carried pets, belongings and mattresses.

Hundreds of Drones, Missiles

Ukraine's air force said Russia launched 656 drones and 73 missiles, including 33 hard-to-shoot-down ballistic missiles and eight Zircon hypersonic missiles - which appeared to be the largest number of such missiles used during the war.

The Zircon has a range of 1,000 km (625 miles) and travels at nine times the speed of sound, Moscow says. Air force units shot down or neutralised 40 missiles and 602 drones, but the air force did not list the Zircons among those that were intercepted.

Russia's defence ministry said it had carried out a "massive strike" on Ukraine's defence industry facilities using high-precision long-range weapons. It later added that its strikes had hit 10 military production facilities in Kyiv.

In Ukraine's northeastern region of Kharkiv, a child was among 14 people injured in the attacks, officials said.

NATO member Poland said it had scrambled military jets to secure its airspace after the Russian strikes on Ukraine.

Russian regions also came under attack. The Ilsky oil refinery, in the southern Russian region of Krasnodar, caught fire after a drone attack, local authorities said on Telegram. Ukraine's military confirmed the strike.

In Belgorod region bordering Ukraine, an 11-year-old boy was injured after a Ukrainian drone hit a home, local authorities said.

Russia downed a total of 148 Ukrainian drones overnight, Russian news agencies said, citing the defence ministry. Air defence systems also repelled drones over Sevastopol in Russia-occupied Crimea, authorities there said.

Reuters could not independently verify all the reports.